Hidden Treasures: Lesser Known Secrets of Canvas

Transcription

1 University of Nebraska - Lincoln DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln Innovation in Pedagogy and Technology Symposium Information Technology Services 2018 Hidden Treasures: Lesser Known Secrets of Canvas Julie Gregg University of Nebraska Medical Center, julie.gregg@unmc.edu Melissa Diers University of Nebraska Medical Center, mdiers@unmc.edu Analisa McMillan University of Nebraska Medical Center, analisa.mcmillan@unmc.edu Follow this and additional works at: Part of the Curriculum and Instruction Commons, Educational Methods Commons, Higher Education Commons, Instructional Media Design Commons, and the Online and Distance Education Commons Gregg, Julie; Diers, Melissa; and McMillan, Analisa, "Hidden Treasures: Lesser Known Secrets of Canvas" (2018). Innovation in Pedagogy and Technology Symposium This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Information Technology Services at DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. It has been accepted for inclusion in Innovation in Pedagogy and Technology Symposium by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln.

2 HIDDEN TREASURES: Lesser known secrets of Canvas ATTENDANCE Enabling the Attendance Feature The Attendance (Roll Call) tool is an external app (LTI) used for taking attendance in Canvas courses. The Attendance tool can be used for online or faceto-face courses. The Attendance tool always appears as a visible Course Navigation link, but it cannot be viewed by students, so hiding the link in Course Settings is not necessary. To turn on Roll Call Attendance: 1. Click Settings in the Course Navigation panel. 2. Click the Navigation tab. 3. Drag the Attendance block to the visible area or right-click the Attendance block and click Enable. 4. Click Save Taking Attendance Once the attendance tool is set up in your course, and your course is published, you can start to take attendance using Roll Call. To take attendance: 1. Click the Attendance tab in the Course Navigation. 2. Select the student and click More. 3. Mark the student Present, Absent, or Late. Currently you can only view Roll Call on a day-by-day basis. To view additional dates, you can run an attendance report for your course. 1 P age

3 Creating a Seating Chart 1. To view the class in the seating chart format, click the Class tab. 2. To set a setting arrangement, click the Edit Seating Chart tab. For more information about using seating charts, refer to: Grading Attendance After the first time you take roll call, Canvas automatically creates an assignment for Roll Call Attendance and adds a column to the Gradebook. By default, attendance is worth 100 points. Note: The Attendance assignment will not appear until you have taken roll for at least one student. 2 Page

4 Note: Although students cannot view the actual attendance tool, they can still view the attendance assignment in the Assignments page. This assignment cannot be hidden from students. Instructors can edit several components of the Roll Call Attendance assignment: 1. You can edit the assignment and change the point value. 2. You can remove Attendance from the Gradebook completely by changing the assignment type. Note: Once you have changed the assignment type, you cannot change it back to a graded assignment. Please ensure you do not want to grade Attendance before changing the assignment type. 3. You can exclude the attendance assignment from the final grade. 4. If you are using weighted assignment groups, you can create a new weighted assignment group and move the attendance assignment into that group. For more information on grading attendance: For Fun: Adding Images to your modules To add fun icons to your modules 1. Go to 2. Select your emoji. The emoji appears with an explanation and a copy button. Click Copy. 3. Go to the Modules tab in your course. 4. Click Edit next to the module header. 5. Paste (Ctrl + V or Command + V) 3 Page

5 HIDDEN TREASURES: Lesser known secrets of Canvas CALENDAR Canvas Calendar: The Calendar is a great way to view everything you have to do for all your courses in one place. In Global Navigation, click the Calendar link. Each personal, course, and group calendar is identified by a separate color that populates the calendar view. Associated assignments for each course or group will appear within the calendar view for each calendar. Note: Canvas will assign an arbitrary color for each calendar unless a custom color is chosen. Each calendar contains 15 default colors, but you can insert a Hex code to create any color of your choice. Colors set in Dashboard course cards also update in the calendar. 2. You change the date of an event or assignment in the same calendar by dragging and dropping the event or assignment to a different date on the month view or mini calendar. Click the event or assignment, drag to the new date, and release your mouse. Note: You can also select the event/assignment, and then click Edit. Here you can edit the event Title, Date, specify a time range, and Location. You can move the event to a different calendar using the Calendar drop-down menu [5]. For more information on using the Calendar visit: or 1 P age

6 Canvas Calendar: The Calendar displays all Assignments according to due date, which causes assignments, discussions, and quizzes with multiple sections and due dates to appear more than once in the Month view. Assignments that are for everyone in the course will not have a user, section, or group associated when hovering over the assignment title [2], meaning it is due on the same date for all students and only appears on the Calendar due date. Multiple Due Dates will appear across your entire course including Quizzes, Assignments, Discussions, Syllabus, Modules, Course Analytics, Calendar, and SpeedGrader. Scheduler: The calendar also includes an optional scheduling tool in Canvas. You can create appointment groups in the Scheduler. Appointment groups create a block of time where students can meet with you. Students can sign up for appointment times in their own calendars. Appointments will appear in your calendar after a student or group has reserved a time slot. 1. Click Calendar on the Global Navigation. 2. Click Scheduler. 3. Click Create an Appointment Group. 4. Click Publish. Notes: If user participation is limited to dates between the course start and end dates, Scheduler events cannot be edited or deleted after the date the course ends. 2 Page

7 View the appointment dates and times in your course calendar. Time slots that have been reserved by students will show as a solid color. 3 P age

8 Canvas Course Settings Select settings from the course navigation Add a letter grade to the total column in the gradebook 1. Select enable course grading scheme -> select set grading scheme 2. To create a new grading scheme -> select manage grading schemes 3. Select + Add grading scheme)

9 4. Name and complete your grading scheme -> select save 5. Select select another scheme 6. Select your course or college grading scheme 7. Select use this grading standard

10 8. Check for letter grade in total column in gradebook More Options Link in Settings Select checkboxes for options and save settings Add Announcements to Home Page Hide Grade distributions graphs from students Default allows students to view destitutions, to turn them off select Hide grade distributions from students and save settings.

11 Course Link Validator 1. Select Validate links in content 2. Select Start link validation and review unresponsive links. Correct or change if nessecary Student View 1. Select Student View

12 2. Navigate through course and select Leave Student View to return to instructor view Reset Course Content Select Reset Course Content

13 1. Select cancel if you DO NOT want to reset course and delete content. Select Reset Course Content, if you wish to reset your course and delete all your material. If you reset but need to restore your course, you can contact the Canvas help desk or by using the URL Undelete method below.

14 Changing Colors on Course Cards 1. Select the three dots on the card you wish to change 2. Select new color by clicking on shade -> select apply Dashboard Course Card Organization 1. Select Courses from the Global navigation -> select all courses

15 2. Select and deselect stars (Colored stared courses are displayed on Dashboard

16 HIDDEN TREASURES: Lesser known secrets of Canvas GRADEBOOK Weighting Grades You can weight final grades based on assignment groups. You can assign a weight to each assignment group, but not the individual assignments. 1. Click the Assignments tab. 2. Click the 3 dots icon. 3. Click Assignment Groups Weight. 4. Click the Weight final grade based on assignment groups checkbox. 5. The Assignment Groups appear. Now you can assign the desired weight to your Assignment group (s) and click Save. Enter the percentage weights for each of the different Assignment Groups you created. The percentage weights you specify here will determine how Canvas calculates the final grade for your course. These percentages can be changed at any time and students will be notified when any changes are made. The weights will show up in the Gradebook for both students and instructors. Notes: Assignment group weights can include decimals. The total percentage of all assignment groups can be set above or below 100%. (Please visit for more calculated information.) Messaging Students from the Gradebook You can use the Gradebook to send messages to your students. Message subjects are filtered based on specific assignment categories: 1 Page

17 Haven't submitted yet students who haven't submitted the assignment. Haven't been graded students whose assignments have not yet been graded (submitted or unsubmitted). Scored less than [point value] students who earned a grade on their assignment less than X number of points. Scored more than [point value] students who earned a grade on their assignment more than X number of points. Although one message most likely will be sent to multiple students at the same time, each student will receive an individual message. 1. Click the Grades tab. 2. Click the 3 dots next to assignment title. 3. Select Message Students Who For more information: Moving the Total column to the front of the Gradebook: You can move the Total column to the front of the Gradebook to quickly see an overview of student progress in your course. 1. In Course Navigation, click the Grades link. 2. Access the Gradebook for your course and scroll to the Total column. Hover your cursor over the column header until the blue toggle arrow or 3 dots appear(s). 3. Select the Move to front menu option. You can move the Total column back to the end of the Gradebook at any time by clicking the blue toggle arrow in the Total column and selecting Move to end. 2 Page

18 Excusing a Grade: You can use the Gradebook to excuse a student from an assignment, discussion, quiz, or group assignment. Excused assignments are not calculated as part of a student's total grade. The assignment is removed from the calculation for the total grade, so it will neither benefit or detract from their total score. This also applies to weighted grades. 1. In Course Navigation, click the Grades link. 2. Locate the student and the assignment you want to excuse. 3. Type EX in the appropriate column When an assignment is excused, the assignment page and the student grade page will show the student that he or she has been excused from the assignment. Students cannot submit excused assignments. 3 Page

19 SpeedGrader Settings and Navigation: As an instructor, SpeedGrader allows you to view and grade student assignment submissions in one place using a simple point scale or complex rubric. You can also provide feedback to your students with text or media comments. There are three sections to the SpeedGrader interface: Navigation, Markup and the sider bar. The sidebar provides all the details about the submission for the student. This is where you enter the grade and or provide feedback. Feedback options include video, text, audio to text or attached files. The left side of the menu includes general settings and options: 1. Gradebook Icon: Return to the Gradebook 2. Mute Icon: Mutes or unmutes the assignment (students can t see the grade until you unmute) 3. Keyboard Icon: Opens a list of keyboard shortcuts for SpeedGrader]. 4. Help Icon: Opens the Canvas help menu 5. Settings Icon: Opens the SpeedGrader Settings menu [5], which includes enabling student list sorting options and anonymous grading. 4 Page

20 The right-side of the menu includes grading information such as 1. The number of assignments that have been graded out of the total number of submissions 2. and the average score and percentage You can use this information to keep track of your grading progress. The right side of the menu bar includes the student list for the assignment. SpeedGrader opens the assignment for the first student listed in the student list, arranged alphabetically by last name. If you have activated student view, the Test Student will be shown at the end of the student list. The student list also displays the status of each student's submission 3. Click the red arrow to view the student drop down list Navigate the left and right arrows to move forward and back between students for easy grading. For more information about using SpeedGrader, visit: 5 P age

21 HIDDEN TREASURES: Lesser known secrets of Canvas QUOTAS The overall UNMC Canvas contract includes the storage limit for the entire UNMC instance (submissions, personal files, etc.) is 500MB per FTE. UNMC has 3717 contracted FTE s = approximately 1.85TB total. There are three system-wide limits within Canvas: 1. COURSE LIMIT: The overall system-wide course limit is currently set at 500MB. Limit includes all Teacher file uploads in the course. The Canvas System Administrator can manually set an individual course limit. 2. USER LIMIT: The overall system-wide user file limit which is currently set at 100 MB. User files are a cumulative total of all files uploaded from all courses. The Canvas System Administrator can manually set an individual course or group limit but not an individual user limit. The user limit is only changed at a system-wide level. File uploads count towards a user limit: 1. Manual uploaded files via the Files area 2. Profile picture 3. Files uploaded in an ungraded discussion post 4. Attached files when utilizing the internal within Canvas Files which are uploaded as an assignment or a graded discussion post do not count towards the user files limit. A graded discussion post is defined as the check box located under Options is checked. If you would like the discussion post not to be graded, but not count against the user limit, type a 0 in the Points Possible box. Keep in mind the discussion post will be displayed in the Grade Center but not be calculated in the overall grade GROUP LIMIT: The overall system-wide group limit which is currently set at 100 MB. Limit includes files which are uploaded in the group page. The Canvas System Administrator can manually set an individual group limit. 1 P a g e

22 FILES THAT DON T COUNT TOWARDS QUOTAS 1. Assignments Record and upload media 2. Conference - Recordings 3. Conversations - Record and upload media (except recorded on mobile device - saved to My Files) 4. Rich Content Editor - Record and upload media 5. SpeedGrader - Record and upload media 2 P a g e

23 HIDDEN TREASURES: Lesser known secrets of Canvas RICH CONTENT EDITOR TinyMCE Editor: The Canvas rich content editor is available in the following Canvas features: announcement, assignments, discussion, pages, quizzes and syllabus. utilizes the tinymce rich content editor. The tinymce rich content editor keyboard shortcuts can be used within canvas: Paragraph drop-down menu: Use the Paragraph Drop-down Menu instead of Font Size to make text accessible for screen readers. Paragraph is used for general narratives. Heading 2 is used for headlines. Heading 3 is used to separate section of text. Heading 4 is used for sub-sections or general sections. Hyperlinks: To add the accessibility information for a hyperlink In the rich content editor, highlight the text on the page, press CTRL + K (Windows) or CMD + K (ios on your keyboard. 1. Add the URL to the first box. 2. The "Text to display" box, this should already be filled in with the same text that was highlighted on your page (in this example, I highlighted the word "link". 3. The "Title" box, this is the pop-up text that you would want people to see when they hover their mouse over the link. 4. The "Target" drop-down can be set to "None" or "New window". 1 P a g e

24 Single space: To separate lines of text with a single space press: SHIFT + Enter (Windows) or OPTION + Return (ios). Accessibility checker: The Rich Content Editor includes an accessibility tool that checks common accessibility errors within the editor. This tool can help you design course content while considering accessibility attributes and is in the Rich Content Editor menu bar. This tool only verifies content created within the Rich Content Editor. You may also use other accessibility tools to verify additional content in Canvas. All components are designed according to the template set in the institutions Theme Editor and verifies the following accessibility rules: STEPS: Table captions: Tables should include a caption describing the contents of the table. Table header scope: Tables headers should specify scope and the appropriate structure. Table header: Tables should include at least one header. Sequential headings: Heading levels should not be skipped (e.g. H2 to H4). However, the tool does not check if the first header starts with H2 or whether the headings are sequential with the rest of the content in the page. Tables do not begin with H1, which is designated for the page title. Heading paragraphs: Headings should not contain more than 120 characters. Image alt text: Images should include an alt attribute describing the image content. Image alt filename: Image filenames should not be used as the alt attribute describing the image content. Currently, files uploaded directly to Canvas create a redirect that does not properly verify image filenames. Image alt length: Alt attribute text should not contain more than 120 characters. Adjacent links: Adjacent links with the same URL should be a single link. This rule verifies link errors where the link text may include spaces and break the link into multiple links. Large text contrast: Text larger than 18pt (or bold 14pt) should display a minimum contrast ratio of 3:1. Small text contrast: Text smaller than 18pt (or bold 14pt) should display a minimum contrast ratio of 4.5:1. Note: For text contrast, the Accessibility Checker verifies color using the same calculations as the WebAIM tool and verifies against Theme Editor templates without High Contrast Styles. However, High Contrast Styles must be enabled for verification if a link color is overwritten manually in the Rich Content Editor. 1. Open the Rich Content Editor using one of the Canvas features which support the Editor. 2 P a g e

25 2. Click the Accessibility Checker icon. Note: Depending on the width of your browser window, you may have to scroll the menu bar horizontally to view the icon. When an issue is detected, the Rich Content Editor highlights the affected area [1]. The sidebar displays the accessibility attribute [2] and an explanation of the error [3]. To learn more about the accessibility attribute, click the Information icon [4]. If the Rich Content Editor contains more than one issue, you can view all issues by clicking the Previous or Next buttons 3. Click Apply button > When all issues have been fixed, or if no issues are detected in the Rich Content Editor, the sidebar indicates that no issues exist and will close automatically. Accessibility menu: Press the following on the keyboards to open the accessibility menu: Windows ios Open accessibility help menu ALT + F8 ALT + FN + F8 Open editor s menu bar ALT + F9 ALT + FN + F9 Open editor s toolbar ALT + F10 ALT + F10 Removing formatting copied from another source: The Rich Content Editor to format text that you pasted from another source. Keyboard shortcuts: Windows copy and paste: Ctrl-C, Ctrl-V Windows copy and paste-without-formatting: Ctrl-C, Ctrl-Shift-V ios copy and paste: CMD-C, CMD-V ios copy and paste-without-formatting: CMD-C, CMD-OPT-Shift-V Aligning text: The Rich Content Editor toolbar to align the text. You can set the position of the text on the page with the Left, Center, and Right Alignment tools or indent the text using the Indent tool. Align directional text: The editor also supports directional text so users can insert content right to left. This feature can be added using the Right to Left button within the editor. It generally involves text containing different types of alphabets, but may also refer to boustrophedon, which is changing text directionality in each row. Removing formatting from selected text: 1. Highlight the desired text to remove formatting 2. Click the Clear Formatting icon to remove the formatting 3. Click the Save button Note: When using the Rich Content Editor in Assignments, Discussions, 3 P a g e

26 Pages, and Quizzes, you have the option to Save & Publish. When using the Rich Content Editor in the Syllabus and Discussions pages, the Save button may appear as Update Syllabus or Post Reply Auto open files: The auto-open inline preview for files in available in the Rich Content Editor. 1. Open the Rich Content Editor 2. Click the Files tab 3. Find and select the file you want to insert. 4. The file name will automatically be added inside the Rich Content Editor. Place your cursor over the link and click, then click the Link icon 5. Click the Auto-open the inline preview for this link checkbox 6. Click the Update Link button 7. Click the Save button to save any changes to the post made in the Rich Content Editor NOTE: Canvas supports previews for documents up to 100 MB and 999 pages. Supported file types.doc.odt.sxi.docx.pdf.sxw.odf.ppt.xlsx.odg.pptx.xls.odp.rtf.txt.ods.sxc 4 P a g e

27 HIDDEN TREASURES: Lesser known secrets of Canvas UPLOADING MULTIPLE FILES Uploading Multiple Files: 1. In Course Navigation, click the Files link. 2. Click the Upload button. 3. Select the files you want to upload to your course [1]. Click the Open button [2]. 4. View the progress bars for the file uploads. 5. View the added files. Uploading Multiple Files via ZIP: ZIP files can be imported into Canvas through Files or Course Settings. Through Course Settings, you must upload the ZIP file to an existing folder in Files. You cannot create new folders 1 P a g e

28 through the Course Import Tool. ZIP files containing internal folder structure retain that folder structure upon upload. 1. You can import a ZIP file directly in Files. In Course Navigation, click the Files link. 2. Click the Upload button. 3. Click the title of the file you want to import [1] and click the Open button [2]. 4. If you want to expand all the contents of the ZIP file, click the Expand It button [1]. If you want to upload the ZIP file intact, click the Upload It button [2]. 5. You can track the progression of the upload by monitoring the progress bar. 6. Your files will be uploaded to Files in Canvas. 2 P a g e

29 HIDDEN TREASURES: Lesser known secrets of Canvas USAGE RIGHT AND USER ACCESS FOR A FILE If usage rights feature is enabled in your course, you must set a usage right (copyright) for each file you upload to your course. Usage rights must be assigned to files before files can be published to the course. Usage Rights is currently a course opt-in feature 1. In Course Navigation, click the Files link. 2. Click the line item for the file 3. Click the Settings icon 4. and the Manage Usage Rights link 5. You can also click the file's warning icon or the Files toolbar Manage Usage Rights link 6. In the Usage Right drop-down menu [1], select one of five usage rights. If you are an instructor and are not sure which usage right applies to your file, please consult your institutional admin for guidance: I hold the copyright (original content created by you) I have obtained permission to use the file (authorized permission by the author) The material is in the public domain (explicitly assigned to public domain, cannot be copyrighted, or is no longer protected by copyright) The material is subject to fair use exception (excerpt or summary used for commentary, news reporting, research, or analysis in education) The material is licensed under Creative Commons; this option also requires setting a specific Creative Commons license 1 P a g e

30 If known, enter the copyright holder information in the Copyright Holder field [2]. 7. You can also set access to the file. By default, the file is unpublished. You can also publish the file or restrict access. To select file access, click the radio button next to the access type. You can change the access at any time. 8. Click the Save button. 2 P a g e

31 HIDDEN TREASURES: Lesser known secrets of Canvas WHITELIST You may discover that certain HTML codes do not work upon saving. This is because Canvas will only support certain HTML elements for security reasons. This also applies to content copied and pasted from an external source. Below is a link to a list of HTML tags that are permissible in Canvas. HTML tags that are not on this list may be stripped out of the Canvas Rich Content Editor when you save your work. Whitelist includes Allowed HTML Tags Attributes on HTML Elements Protocols for Elements Allowed Style Properties MathML Tags 1 P a g e

32 HIDDEN TREASURES: Lesser known secrets of Canvas ZOOM Zoom Installed as LTI: Zoom can be add in the course Navigation as an LTI, this is determined by your system administrator and is a system wide setting When a user clicks the Zoom link, the Authentication page displays. The user clicks the Authenticate button to begin the authorization process. 1 P a g e

33 Installed as External Tool: Zoom can be added into Canvas as an External App installation, this is determined by your system administrator and is a system wide setting 1. Login to Canvas and select a course. 2. Once in the course, click Modules. 3. Click + in the Module where you'd like to add Zoom. 4. This will open the Module options. Choose Add External Tool. Click Zoom. Click Add Item. 5. Click to publish the Zoom link. 6. When you are ready to launch the meeting, click Zoom. 2 P a g e